Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe

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Hirabe, 48, was shot several times in the head by unidentified gunmen as he and a colleague, Ahmed Omar Hashi, were walking to work in the capital, local journalists told CPJ. Hashi, 41, was shot in the stomach and hand but survived.

On March 3, 2016, a military court in Mogadishu found Hassan Hanafi, a former journalist and affiliate of the militant group Al-Shabaab, guilty of involvement in the murder, as well as the killings of four other journalists. According to news reports, the court sentenced him to death by execution, which in Somalia is usually carried out by firing squad.

A veteran Radio Shabelle reporter, Hirabe took up the role as station director after the former director, Said Tahlil Ahmed, was murdered in February. A popular journalist, Hirabe had led a charity drive to help displaced Somali children in 2006. He was survived by two wives and five children.